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New Yorkers flocked to Liberty Island for a stunning D-Day anniversary tribute in which 1 million red rose petals rained down on the Statue of Liberty on Friday.

A crowd of more than 200 — war veterans, students and tourists among them — gazed in awe as helicopters showered the statue with petals in honor of the 70th anniversary of the invasion.

Mike Roper, 74, a history teacher at York Prep, said he came to teach his students that surviving vets are living history.

“‘Saving Private Ryan,’ all these movies, are not movies anymore. These are real people [to them],” he said. “We live in freedom today because of them.”

Others called it an inspirational way to celebrate June 6, 1944, the fateful day that Allied troops landed on the shores of Normandy, France.

“It was awesome to watch all these people standing here in silence and respect for these veterans … The nice thing was the rose petals, ” said Nicole Painter, 15, a student.

Added Leigh Anne Painter, 41, of Nashville: “It’s a great feeling to be here. We’re thankful for the freedom we have.”

The stunning spectacle was personal for Morton Wernick, a 92-year-old D-Day vet from The Bronx.

Sporting an old Army uniform, Wernick recalled landing on Utah Beach.

“The real bloodbath was when we crossed the country road. Today it’s a major highway. And then we went into the hedgerows. Then it was a bloodbath. There was a lot of fighting. Those hedges, you had to blast them out and you had to get tanks to use claws and uproot them,” he recalled.

He added, “The Germans were very stubborn and they held on.”

The tribute will help generations to come remember the importance of the day, said Annie Cohen, 64, of the Upper East Side.

“It’s very important that we keep the story alive,” Cohen said.

Staged by the group The French Will Never Forget, the ceremony featured a band and fire boats spraying colored water.

Nearly 160,000 Allied troops stormed five beaches in northern France on June 6, 1944, to hasten the downfall of Nazi Germany. It was biggest sea-based military invasion in history.